HARD CASES

Police Use of Force in America

By: Captain Greg Meyer

Narrated by: Greg Meyer

This book is for listeners inside and outside law enforcement who are interested in a close examination of police uses of force. My purposes in writing it are (1) to provide factual information that contrasts with media-driven myths and misinformation for three famous cases; (2) to examine several controversial but common police tools and tactics with an eye toward improving outcomes; and (3) to enhance public understanding of the role of police officers when they confront resisting suspects.

For more than three decades during and after my career with the Los Angeles Police Department, I have been involved as an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of police use-of-force cases across America. The vast majority involved police shootings, TASER uses, other uses of force, and arrest-related deaths. Among my most complex and highest profile cases were those involving Rodney King, Oscar Grant, and George Floyd. The insights I offer in this book are drawn from this experience.

While insider information and important details about each incident will be presented here, the listener will not find exhaustive regurgitations of each case that can be found by reading other books or searching the Internet. Rather, this book presents fact-based corrections to myths and misinformation about these incidents. Important facts about any given police use of force incident are often unknown or overlooked, thus many people jump to conclusions when incidents are discussed in the media, or by other authors, or around your dinner table.

When is a police use of force reasonable according to commonly accepted police procedures and the law? When is it not? How do myths and misinformation about incidents influence public perception and reaction? How should we go about improving policy, training, equipment, and tactics for this unavoidable aspect of policing? Those are the questions I seek to answer in this book.

©2025 Greg Meyer (P)2025 Greg Meyer

Big help to me as a citizen

I'm not in law enforcement, but this book gave me huge insights into the workings of police use of force. Even though it's jam-packed with technical details, author and 30-year LAPD veteran Greg Meyer makes it easy to understand what everything means and how officers are supposed to implement force to safely take someone to jail. He's honest about the fact that officers don't always do the right thing, and he speaks openly about the few bad cops who need to "find another profession." As one of the nation's top experts in police use of force, Meyer has provided expert witness testimony for both defense and prosecution of officers in hundreds of cases, so he definitely knows what he's talking about. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE wanting to understand the mechanics, psychology, prosecution and politics of force used by police officers.

What police really face on a day to day basis!

This book was a real eye opener for me, and I thought I already had my eyes open. The insights into the Rodney King, Oscar Grant, and George Floyd Cases were simply breathtaking. We count so much on the news to inform us and yet we have no idea when the news itself is uninformed.
Retired Captain Greg Meyer has written a exceptionally good book about a very hard subject indeed. If comforting words were enough to subdue a violently acting human being we would be living in a nice fantasy world. But the truth is, as hard as it is to accept, is that it takes strength, perseverance, and physical force to control a manically violent person. And why we are surprised when we see that on video is now beyond my understanding.
I have always had a great respect for the people that voluntarily have chosen to protect us, and after reading this book, "Hard Cases", that respect just went through the roof.

the authors obviously expwrience,expertise and overall excellence in narration of this audio book.

the authors narration ability and expertise brought about by his experience and the fact that he shared his email in order for listeners to contact him directly.